World news | The Guardian
· collected 2026-09-06 · by Australian Associated Press
Qantas flight QF122 from Queenstown to Sydney suffered a suspected engine issue after taking off on Saturday afternoon, with flames appearing to erupt from one of its engines as it climbed above New Zealand's South Island mountain ranges. The plane made an emergency landing in Christchurch 52 minutes later, and both passengers and crew reported feeling shaken but grateful for the safe outcome. A Qantas spokesperson said that pilots are highly trained to manage such situations and that steps will be taken to support affected customers. The cause of the incident has yet to be determined by investigators who arrived on Sunday to examine the plane's engines.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A Sydney-bound Qantas flight had to be diverted to Christchurch in New Zealand on Saturday afternoon due to flames shooting from its left-hand side engine. The plane, Flight QF122, was heading from Queenstown to Sydney when the suspected engine issue occurred. Passenger Kriti Sethi described hearing loud bangs and seeing five bursts of fire coming out of the engine before people started screaming in panic. Despite initial confusion over what was happening, the crew eventually diverted the plane to Christchurch, where it landed safely after about 52 minutes in the air. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, with the plane temporarily grounded for inspection.
Written for “Qantas Plane Engine Fire Incident” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 5433 · logged 2026-09-06
Liza-Jayne Loch was returning home from a business trip to New Zealand when her Qantas flight ran into trouble.
asserted
flight → return → trouble
The plane was climbing above the scenic South Island’s mountain ranges on Saturday afternoon, bound for Sydney, when a bang shook the cabin.
asserted
bang → climb → cabin
A passenger seated near the left wing soon shouted “the engine’s on fire”, Loch recalled, as the cabin lights began to flicker.
asserted
lights → seat → fire
Footage recorded by a passenger and shared with AAP shows flames appearing to issue from the plane’s left engine in a series of rapid bursts.
asserted
flames → record → bursts
“I was sitting on the left-hand side of the plane, and the flames were very, very visible,” Loch said.
asserted
Loch → sit → plane
As the plane continued to gain altitude, Loch tried to comfort herself by recalling that modern jets could land safely on a single engine.
uncertain
jets → continue → engine
“That’s what I kept in my head, that we could actually fly on one engine,” she said.
uncertain
she → ’ → engine
“But the flames kept coming and the noise kept coming.”
Qantas flight QF122 suffered a suspected engine issue shortly after taking off from Queenstown on Saturday afternoon, before making a priority landing at Christchurch.
asserted
flight → come → Christchurch
According to FlightAware, the Boeing 737 landed about 52 minutes after takeoff, touching down shortly before 5pm local time.
uncertain
Boeing → accord → pm
The cause of the incident has yet to be determined, but Qantas sent two engineers to Christchurch on Sunday to investigate.
asserted
Qantas → have → Sunday
Both engines are thought to have remained in operation for the duration of the flight.
asserted
engines → think → flight
Loch said conditions soon stabilised after the initial shock, while cabin staff sought to comfort passengers.
asserted
staff → say → passengers
“The crew were all terribly, terribly calming,” Loch said.
asserted
Loch → say → ?
Emergency services were waiting on the tarmac when the flight landed, with passengers allowed to disembark as normal after a short wait.
asserted
passengers → wait → wait
“There were massive cheers when we landed,” Loch said.
asserted
Loch → be → ?
A Qantas spokesperson said the plane was believed to have suffered an engine issue and steps would be taken to support affected customers.
asserted
steps → say → customers
“Our pilots are highly trained to manage situations like this and the aircraft landed safely,” they said.
asserted
they → train → this
“We know this would have been a distressing experience for passengers and will be contacting all customers to provide support.”
asserted
this → know → support
Affected passengers were put up in a hotel near the Christchurch international airport before being booked on a complimentary flight to Sydney on Sunday.
asserted
passengers → put → Sunday
While the second flight went off without a hitch, Loch said nerves were still high.
asserted
nerves → go → hitch
“I cried getting off the plane when we landed in Sydney,” Loch said.
asserted
Loch → cry → Sydney
